Faery Tale - Chapter Thirty Four

Chapter 34: Familiars


Sasuke gritted his teeth and backed one more step, despite the fact that there was very little space to retreat to begin with. Exploding lights continued to flash through the window behind him.

Fuck, for every Sand bastard that went down four more appeared. Pretty soon, his entire field of vision was filled with homicidal soldiers. One more step. The floor boards creaked loudly. He stepped carefully as they were slippery with blood; most of it was from fallen enemies. He was barely able to stay awake, but he did all he could to keep his body moving. His right hand held a serrated blade though he could not remember where it came from. Every time the blade withdrew, a painful strain on his arm and shoulder muscles quickly followed.

Damn it


"You're the Uchiha?" A deep voice asked, Sasuke couldn't see its source, his vision swam. He didn't reply, more out of apathy. Uchiha or not, he was not going to give up. His wounds had reopened and he already had one foot in the grave, nothing would change that. Ironically, Itachi might have already preceded him again, his older brother was always one step ahead. Sasuke spat blood.

"Looks like the picture, Captain," Another person replied.

"I want him alive," The Captain ordered, "You, report to Baki-Sama. Tell him we have the boy,"


"Good luck with that," for the first time in a few weeks, Sasuke felt like grinning. He was not going down without a fight. He moved his aching body toward the closest soldier and thrust the sword forward, but it flew out of his hand.

Did I miscalculate? That was highly possible, not many people could fight while barely conscious.   

He concentrated on the voices, but they faded in and out: there were explosions, heavy boots moving across the wooden floor, and screams from the outside. Finally, the light grew dim as shadows collapsed around him.

Not again

---

He woke up with a strong wave of nausea. Darkness loomed around the small moving compartment he was in, probably a carriage, not to mention the many bumps and jerks along the road. Bitter smells came from the outside to assault his senses. Sasuke cursed his luck and closed his eyes; it was all he could do to hold the sickness at bay.

Finally awake,

Not that it meant anything special, these past couple of weeks felt like a blur. One moment he was awake, the other not so much. And when he was awake, he wished he wasn't; beatings, blood loss and torture. And for what?

My name

It didn't matter who the captors were, he swore to kill them all: Father and his lackeys who were previously known as family, the Sand bastards and God knew who else, the list kept growing.

Why me…He breathed deeply and every intake of air burned his lungs. He ignored the pain and tried to remember what led to his current situation. Everything seemed to blend in together; The Uchiha Estate, Shisui, the masked medic, Kabuto, Tsunade, Naruto, and Sakura.

Sakura…She was the one who started everything, if he hadn't met her at the ball, then his curiosity wouldn't have gotten the best of him. Though to be honest, it wasn't fully her fault. He was the one who antagonized and chased her around the Kingdom. If they hadn't met, he would still be blaming destiny for a useless existence and an even more useless brother.


Guess I can't complain. Yes, he'd rather take "beaten and bloody" over "useless" any time. All it took was one thin, pink-haired girl to open his eyes and introduce him to the world that he always sought. He smiled wickedly, whoever wanted him alive was most definitely going to pay for it.

Sunlight slowly began to filter through the carriage boards, and outside noise increased; skirmishes, screams, morning greetings, marching and all sort of oddities.

ANBU are fucking useless. Chasing my family when they should be….He let the thought trail and concentrated on the bindings around his upper body. The nausea had dramatically decreased by now. Eventually the carriage would have to stop.

Soon, for the first moment in his entire life, Uchiha Sasuke felt alive.

---

When the carriage did come to a stop, the door opened, Sasuke was still not able to tell what time of day it was. The sky was gray and snowing, there was no indication of how far he'd traveled or towards where. His custodians were grouped in formation: six soldiers in total, dressed more fittingly to the cold weather than he was. Also, they were waiting near a forest of leafless trees. Two of them dragged him outside into the freezing cold, and he stumbled the moment his feet made contact with the soft snowy ground. He cursed softly under his breath, but did nothing to get up or move.  

"Welcome Lord Sasuke, I apologize for the crude transportation, but it was necessary," A familiar voice greeted him, smooth and educated.

"Kabuto," Sasuke muttered, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He smirked, looking up from his kneeling position.

"We would be honored if you graced us with your presence," Kabuto went on, his voice dripping with mockery, "My Master arranged it so you would not lose your life in this unfortunate assault,"

"How generous of him, I'm sure he also opened a few border Gates here and there to make this possible," Sasuke was careful not to make any sudden movement, since he was surrounded by enemy soldiers and one traitor. The right moment will come soon, "Aren't you going to bribe these morons and get it done with?" He tilted his head sideways to indicate the Sand captain.

"Thank you for reminding me, I almost forgot," The silver haired man let out a low whistle and stepped back. Four cloaked figures with odd silhouettes appeared from behind tree trunks and quickly disposed of the Sand soldiers. It wasn't even a fight, more of a cold blooded massacre. Kabuto was still standing back to prevent his pristine black cloak from being tainted by blood, his hood was down and his face emotionlessly watching the macabre spectacle.  


As expected, Sasuke watched the scene with calculating detachment. These newcomers would certainly stop his escape attempt, no matter how well planned. Time to meet this Master of yours then… He cleared all doubts from his mind, if this Master wanted him dead, Sasuke would be six feet under by now. He slowly got up to his feet, "You might want to do something about my wounds, it wouldn't be fitting to meet your great Master looking like this."


"Of course, but not quite yet, Lord Sasuke, I really do appreciate your cooperation, and you will be rewarded in due time," Kabuto raised his hood elegantly and gestured one of his minions to cut the bindings. Sasuke rubbed his hands where the rope was too tight and left scabs. Kabuto went on, "Oh and by the way, you might need this," he retrieved a crude gray cloak from the carriage and handed it to Sasuke, "It might not be what your lordship is used to, but it will stop you from freezing,"

Again with the snide remarks, Sasuke smoothed his features into a confident mask of calmness. His survival and ultimate revenge depended on this moment.

"We didn't have time to finish your treatment back at the Estate, but this will do," The hooded man had almost disappeared behind a cluster of trees, "Please move faster, we don't have all day,"

Sasuke tried to look for the four minions as he marched, but they had vanished. No doubt they would materialize instantly when it was time to chop his head off. The trees were growing more thickly now, and it was only due to Kabuto's dramatically dark outfit that he did not get lost. Not long after, his feet refused to move anymore and he decided to stop.  He waited long minutes for his guide to turn back.

"What now?"

"I'm tired, hungry and too hurt to move," Normally this childish behavior was unacceptable to Sasuke, but today was special.  

"I already instructed those oafs to give you medicine," Kabuto replied curtly.

"Maybe, maybe not, either way I can't move on my own. Find me a carriage," Sasuke channeled his brother's most spoiled voice and an over-dramatic wave of his left hand.

"The carriage has been destroyed, I can't very well find you another one, we're in the middle of nowhere"

"I'm sure you can do anything if you put your mind into it, Kabuto, just believe," He sat on the ground not caring if the snow froze his butt. The cloak was crude and itchy, and definitely not good enough for his lordship's standards. Sasuke grinned at the thought, showing white teeth.

"Kabuto, our guest is right," A new person joined him, he walked slowly behind Sasuke. His voice was rich and smooth, and held a high noble accent, "what were you thinking?"

Kabuto slightly jumped then bowed deeply and stepped back, "Master, forgive my carelessness, I should have known better,"

Sasuke strained his neck to catch a glimpse of the "Master". When he saw the man, a sense of familiarity washed over him. The white marble skin, yellow eyes and long raven hair. This man's pallor had always scared him, now it gave a wave of foreboding.

"Father's business partner," Sasuke muttered, he saw this man often when he was a child, always coming in and out of father's office.

"I'm glad you remember me Sasuke, we have so much to talk about," his smile showed sharp teeth.